Superior

Chapter 27

With my back pressed to the wall, I slid down to the ground.

"How do you think people are reacting? Back home, I mean."

He smiled wryly. "My guess is that they aren't reacting at all. No one likes it when things are out of the ordinary, so they pretend the abnormal stuff doesn't happen. I bet they've already forgotten about us. And you remember what Perfecta said." He glanced at the camera in his own cell, then lowered his voice. "About the so-called Capitol tour."

My stomach twisted. "But someone must have thought it was suspicious," I insisted. "Carlie, maybe. Or Lizzy might have told someone..." I trailed off, knowing the chances of that were slim.

"Is it not obvious to you that the Superiors have insane power?" Trai snapped. Then, more gently, he said, "They probably swore Lizzy to secrecy. And Carlie, well, even if she realized something was wrong, she wouldn't say anything. She's too smart—and even more than that, too obsessed with being Chosen to do anything that might put her chances at risk."

I couldn't help but hope that he was; surely at least one person had to have noticed our sudden absence. But deep down, I knew Trai was right. Even if one person gave the matter a second thought, they alone would be powerless. And as far as my parents were concerned—well, they were model citizens, and they wouldn't dare go against what the Superiors proclaimed as the truth. So blinded were they by their false faith in the government that they would never see the corruption in the system.

No matter what happened to their only daughter.

"You know what I want right now?" Trai asked, abruptly changing the subject. He was sitting now, too, with his legs splayed out in front of him. I was hugging mine to my chest. "I want a cheeseburger. A triple cheeseburger, with everything on it."

I salivated, imagining that. While Nessa's makeshift breakfast had helped, the satisfaction left by the meal had long worn off. "With a milkshake," I added, licking my dry, chapped lips. "And a cupcake for dessert."

Trai glanced at me strangely, then his expression softened. "Right, you like cupcakes," he murmured. "Remind me, once we get out of here, that I have to take you to Dulcet and treat you to one of their rainbow cupcakes."

I raised an eyebrow. "Rainbow cupcakes? I didn't know they had those."

"Secret menu," he explained, a mischievous light in his eyes.

Despite myself, I smiled. "That sounds great," I said genuinely, a warm blush settling over my cheeks. I refrained from mentioning that, given the circumstances, the chances that we would ever leave the Capitol were almost nonexistent.

"Great, then." Trai grinned absently, leaning his head back against the wall and letting his eyelids droop. "It's a date."

For a while, we were silent. I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my tangled hair.

"What do you think she'll decide to do to us?" I asked meekly, after a moment.

At first Trai didn't answer, and I thought he hadn't heard me. Then he shook his head. "I don't know, honestly," he admitted. "On one hand, I expect her to do something drastic, like, say hang us above a shark tank by our toes. But on the other hand, it seems that Miracle has a flair for the dramatic, so I'm thinking that she'll just publicly humiliate us, then let us leave."